Researchers Develop a Self-Filling Water Bottle that Harvests Water from the Air

There is water in the air around us at every moment. While this may not seem very significant if you live in a water-rich area, this untapped resource could benefit everyone from athletes on the go to people living in arid areas of the world. Taking a cue from the Namib Desert Beetle, scientists have developed a water bottle that can fill itself up by harvesting water from the atmosphere.

The Namib Desert Beetle has a shell that is covered in bumps, which allows humidity in the air to gradually accumulate on its back until water droplets form. These droplets roll down the beetle’s back and directly into its mouth, allowing the insect to survive in environments where ground water is scarce. Researchers have mimicked this shell to develop a bottle that utilizes the same water collecting effect. This technology can also be used on tent covers, roof tiles and other items.

NBD Nano is taking advantage of this technology to create a water bottle that can continually fill itself up. The company hopes to have the water bottle on the market by 2014. “We see this being applicable to anything from marathon runners to people in third-world countries, because we realize that water is such a large issue in the world today, and we want to try to alleviate those problems with a cost-efficient solution,” says Deckard Sorensen, co-founder of NBD Nano.

There are nearly four quadrillion gallons of water in the air, yet people all over the world are still thirsty. Scientists have been working to break into this untapped resource for over a decade, and are making some incredible breakthroughs.

9. Only if you're thinking about

Taping several beetles to the bottle, silly.

If you're using NBD's nano-technology, it's a much bigger playing field....

From the second link....

"NBD Nano co-founder Deckard Sorensen wants this green technology available in all walks of life; installing it on people, cars, homes and anything else you can imagine.Sorensen believes that in a climate with 75% humidity, his device can harvest “three liters per square meter per hour"."

32. Oh, I'm not talking about the bugs, LOL. The bottles, only!

4. Made me think of

still (spelling? I don't remember) suits. I was wondering about them the other day when outside in Kansas in November in 70 degree temps looking at the new 8 foot beach area around my one pond left with water in it. Going to be 70 again in a couple of days.

12. I dunno if it would be distilled

Wouldn't that require boiling the water and wouldn't that require a more powerful heat source than a solar powered battery? I dunno. Maybe I read the two links wrong. Not had all my coffee intake this morning.

I wonder how fine the filter is - because there's all sorts of gobbeldy gook in the air - and soluble particulate matter may? find its way through? Again, unsure. I'm not sure how fine a filter would need to be to make sure that didn't happen. I know that <2.5 pm shouldn't be inhaled but not sure about ingested.

18. Distillation only requires vapor and vapor is produce (more slowly) without boiling

Vaporization: you've seen it.

Put out a shallow pan on a sunny day and come back at various times. You will see the water level go down and dry up. That's vaporization without boiling.

Now take the humid air, which has become humid from vaporization all over the world. Condense it by beetle technology or cold coils or a glass of iced tea. It will be almost as pure as distilled water, because it is essentially distilled water that has been distilled in a less than perfectly closed system.

19. These are my questions as well

I believe particulate matter is left behind in evaporation, I don't believe boiling is necessary. But acid rain comes to mind, and I am not really ready to figure that out myself this morning, despite the pot of tea I have consumed.

21. Distilling water is condensing water vapor

It doesn't matter how the water is turned into vapor, boiling water is just a way to generate lots of water vapor. One could also lower the air pressure to cause the liquid water to become vapor at room temperatures. This works off water vapor in the air, so no boiling needed.

34. If I use the bottle near the Ocean do I get salt water instead of fresh water?

I know in traditional steam distillers you can entrain particulates in the vapor, so we would use cyclone and chevron separators to cause it to drop out. What about dust and other pollutants contaminating the air, would we get a pile of that in the water bottle?